Let it Die
by TJ Sparkles
Summary: In the beginning, it all seemed so easy. They thought they’d chase their dreams, but they were instead left with a broken friendship and thoughts of what could have been. Oneshot.


**A/N: So, something new. I've been working on this for almost a week now, and I'm still not happy with it, but eh. That's the way it goes sometimes. Apologies for any formatting issues...yeah, my laptop's been screwy.  
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**Flashbacks are in italics. Additionally, the lyrics used are from "Let it Die" by Three Days Grace. I'm aware that this is a breakup song, but rest assured that's not the case with this fic. Well, it kinda is, but it's a friendship ending rather than a romantic relationship. Kinda AU-ish. **

**Enjoy, and let me know what you thought!

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They'd been so young, so hungry, and so eager to make that first impression count, because they both knew that would be their chance, the perfect opportunity to make their mark on the world. There was no other option, they were _born _for this. It was a dream that they both shared and also part of the reason why they were such good friends. Both of them knew exactly what they wanted and would stop and nothing less to get their names up in lights. To them, becoming professional wrestlers was their reasons for living, the one thing they'd pushed for even when everyone else told them that it would never happen. Both Alex and Chris were used to the doubters, but that was fine by them, because the snide remarks and looks of disdain only served to fuel their passion, to ignite their drive and make them work that much harder to achieve success.

_We had fire in our eyes_

_In the beginning_

_I never felt so alive  
In the beginning…_

Since he was a little boy, Alex had known that wrestling was the only thing he wanted to do. Most boys tried out for the football team or played Little League baseball; he chose to get a trampoline instead and practice moves and holds on it with his friends. Then again, he'd always been different than your average kid. And as he got older, his love for the sport only intensified. He immediately began making plans to train after graduation, much to his parents' dismay. They'd always wanted their little boy to go to college, get a real job and, as his dad put it, "make an honest living." But Alex couldn't do that. He just couldn't cram himself into the life of a 9-5 job, a wife, kids, and the whole picket fence deal. At least, not yet. He knew that if it was meant to be, it would happen, but he also couldn't push his dreams aside just to make his parents happy. In the end, they'd came around and offered their full support, although his mom had been more than a little sad when he left Michigan to find his way in the seemingly glamorous world of professional wrestling.

Fast forward a couple of years, and enter Chris Sabin. Alex hadn't made much of the guy when he first saw him, just thought of him as one of many opponents he'd encounter in his career, but the two of them had actually bonded, through their love of video games and slightly kooky taste in pop culture, and became fast friends. And as luck would have it, they learned that they lived only about 20 minutes from each other, which made life on the road a lot easier. If the other needed a place to stay, it was only a short trip from Alex's house to Chris', and vice versa.

_We had time on our side,_

_In the beginning_

_We had nothing to hide_

_In the beginning…_

Why had it seemed so much simpler then? Alex longed for the days when the only thing they had to worry about was how they were going to get from city to city. All the nights they'd stayed up, fearing that they'd never make it to their next show, and being so strapped for cash that they'd basically subsided on a diet of Easy Mac and Beanie Weenies, had seemed hopeless back then, but now, Alex would give anything to have it back. Being young and green had its advantages. When did they become so jaded? More importantly, _how _had they let that happen? They'd always said that nothing and no one would get in the way of their friendship.

Alex scoffed to himself as he continued to muse about how they got to this point, the awkward point where they had to force a conversation. What happened to the two guys that everyone thought had an unbreakable bond? What happened to the plans they'd made for themselves, what happened to their dreams? It seemed like just yesterday that he and Chris had been discussing how they were going to spend that first big paycheck.

And then he remembered. Try as he may, he'll never forget that night, specifically the venomous and hateful barbs that Chris had thrown at him. The guy was like a brother to him, how could he have spewed so much bitter _hate _and _viciousness _towards his closest friend? Not only that, he'd felt no remorse for it. That was what hurt Alex the most. Chris hadn't seemed to think about the effects his words would have, or just didn't care. He wasn't sure which, but either way, it hurt.

_I swear I never meant to let it die  
I just don't care about you anymore  
It's not fair when you say that I didn't try  
I just don't care about you anymore_

He couldn't even remember how the fight had started, but if he had to guess, Alex would say it was his fault. Probably him being an asshole like usual. He couldn't remember, but he did remember Chris getting frustrated to the point where he'd snapped and shoved him up against the wall. The act had taken him aback, because for one, Chris wasn't the kind of guy to get mad often, and when he usually did, it was never at Alex. The two of them had arguments like all friends do, but they never stayed mad at each other for longer than ten, fifteen minutes at the most, which is why this particular fight really got under his skin. Alex didn't like the guy he'd become as of late, but apologizing was never his strong suit. Chris had always pushed Alex's temper tantrums to the side because he knew it was typical of his friend. And really, Alex knew how much of a childish brat he could be, but hell, he'd never cared what anyone thought, save for his family and Chris.

"_Fucking grow up already, Alex."_

The more he thought about it, the more it felt like Chris had been purposely picking fights with him over the past couple of months. They'd been bickering about everything, from what to get on their pizza to what movies to watch, but it was a natural thing for them, so Alex had pushed it aside. He had never once entertained the notion that maybe Chris was getting tired of him. There was no reason for him to think that, which was why the end of their friendship shook him so.

But Chris had a different perspective on the issue. From where he was sitting, he didn't think he'd done anything wrong. He hated to say it, but fame had changed Alex, and not for the better. He started believing his own hype and became an egotistical jerk, and it was just a complete 180 from the guy he knew.

"_Is that how you feel?" Chris snarled, taking a step closer to Alex, their noses almost touching._

"_Yeah, it is! Cause right now, you're being a dick!" Alex replied, his voice just as loud as his friend's. "You coulda done more! How about you get your head out of your ass, huh?" He ran a hand through his hair. _

"_There were loads of scouts out there, man! This was supposed to be our chance to show what we could do, to hopefully get a chance to take it to the big stage, and you fucked it up! Geez."_

"_Oh, is that so?" Chris replied. "I'm a dick, because I won't indulge your stupid fantasy? Because I'm being realistic?" _

_His deep blue eyes flashed, and he clinched his jaw as he spoke. _

"_You need to learn, Alex, that the world doesn't revolve around you. You got a lot of growing up to do, pal, and if you keep going through life with that attitude, it's not gonna be good."_

_If looks could kill, Alex was pretty positive that he would be lying in a crumpled heap on the floor right now. He'd never seen so much disdain and disgust in his friend's eyes before, and what was even worse? That disdain and disgust was aimed at him. _

"_You know what, forget this. I'm done." Chris threw his hands up in protest and stormed off, not bothering to even glance behind him. _

_If he had, he would have noticed the bewilderment and pain on Alex's face._

"_Hey, wait a second, would ya?" Alex yelled, but it was too late. _

* * *

Later that night, Alex couldn't sleep. He'd only paced his room about a million times, the thoughts of the day's events still burned in his brain. The Detroit native had tried every technique possible to rid his brain of them, but he just couldn't. After flipping through the hotel room's low grade cable, and groaning once the TV fuse blew, he figured that the night couldn't get much worse, and decided to take a walk.

He wasn't planning on going anywhere in particular, just needed an excuse to get some fresh air. Besides, he figured that a walk would help clear his head and maybe give him some answers as to how and why this happened. He still didn't understand it entirely. Chris Sabin, a guy he considered his brother and best friend in the world, was now a complete stranger and his biggest enemy. And what hurt the most? The fact that the older man was a complete stranger to him. Alex didn't know where Sabin was or what he was doing, and the feeling was akin to losing a family member. It just didn't seem right, him traveling from city to city, doing show after show, and not having Chris by his side to balance him out or keep him from doing something stupid. Hell, he even missed stumbling into his room completely wasted and Chris being there to make sure he made it to the toilet before he hurled everywhere, and that was probably the most embarrassing moment he'd ever encountered, never mind the fact that Chris had been there to witness the entire thing.

_You blame me, but_

_It's not fair when you say that I didn't try…_

The thought haunted Alex. Why couldn't this be fixed? He'd done all he could to mend our friendship, but it had seemed like Chris just didn't care about it anymore. He had sent texts, e-mails, IM's, numerous voice mails, but none of them were returned. He couldn't wrap his head around it. Yeah, he'd been a colossal fuckwit, but he didn't think that his behavior was worth this kind of treatment. Part of him wanted to drive to Chris' house and apologize, but there were two things stopping him. One, he wasn't even sure if Chris was staying there anymore, and two: why should _he _be the one to do all the work? Chris was just as much to blame for this as he was. After all, he was the one who'd shunned Alex and pretty much told him to go to hell.

They'd already decided that they would take their tag team to the big leagues, and show everyone just what they were made of. Make them take notice and see how hard they'd worked. Now? It looked like they would never have the chance. So now what? He really wanted to call up his former friend and say something. Anything. Even if Chris didn't respond, at least he would have made his feelings known. But that was going to be difficult, considering that he'd changed his number. It never occurred to Alex that Chris wanted to be left alone, but it didn't matter. You didn't just let a decade long friendship die without fighting for it, and if there was one trait Alex possessed, it was persistence.

"Aw, fuck it," Alex mumbled, as he slid his shoes on and grabbed his jacket. He didn't know where he was going to go; all he knew was that he had to find Chris. His stomach growled as he approached his car, and he winced as he realized that getting something to eat, even though it was an insane hour of the morning, would probably be smart if he didn't want to toss his cookies.

The Detroit native backed out of the hotel parking lot, thoughts of what had happened still running through his head. Hopefully eating would give him some peace of mind, no matter how small an amount. Right now, their friendship was stuck in limbo, and Alex just wanted them to either move forward and go their separate ways or get over it and be the guys they'd always been. The last option was very unlikely, but hey, he had to hope, right?

* * *

Upon arriving at his destination, Alex sauntered aimlessly into the small diner, a breath of relief escaping through his mouth once he realized that it was almost barren. An older gentleman sat at the table nearest the door, sipping a cup of coffee and flirting with the waitress. Alex kept his head down as he made his way to his usual spot, a booth near the very back. Upon reaching it, he was surprised to find that someone else was sitting there—a very familiar someone that he hadn't expected to run into. Okay, maybe that was a lie. He knew that Chris liked to frequent the diner, because the two of them had shared many meals in it after a show, but he hadn't quite expected to see him here, in their booth. His breath hitched as he settled into the booth awkwardly, his head down and his eyes on the table.

Yep, this was definitely awkward. He hated the feeling, but what was he supposed to say? For once in his life, Alex Shelley didn't know how to start a conversation, and it was fucking frustrating.

_Talk already, you pussy. Man up. _

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could actually say anything, an older woman walked up, a notepad in her hand. She smiled at the two before whipping out a pen.

"Can I get you boys anything?" The waitress prodded, gum snapping as she spoke.

"Just coffee for me, thanks," Chris replied quietly, his eyes focused on the window across from him.

"Same for me," Alex replied, mirroring Chris' gesture and turning his eyes toward the window.

Silence. Alex dared to look away from the window to the man sitting across from him in the small booth. Chris was still staring out the window, no expression whatsoever on his face.

"Alright, look." Alex turned to the man that had once been his friend. "I've, uh, been thinking about that night. A lot, actually." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "And you were right: I was a dick. We were both under a lot of pressure that night, and yeah…" his voice trailed off. "It doesn't excuse my behavior by any means, but I came here to tell you that I'm sorry."

No response. Fantastic.

"What happened to us, man?" Alex pressed. "How did we get to this point?"

The older man scoffed and shook his head. He couldn't believe Alex was asking him this. He thought he had made his feelings pretty clear. Just because they had been friends didn't mean he had an obligation to put up with his self-serving, immature bullshit. Quite honestly, Chris had been enjoying his new life, away from Alex, and he didn't want it to go back to the constant screaming and childlike behavior that he'd had to endure.

"We grew up, 'Lex. Scratch that, **I **grew up." Chris shrugged his shoulders and ran a hand through his messy hair.

"I just don't care about you anymore."

With that, he slid out of the booth and walked away, much like before, except this time, Alex didn't try to stop him, didn't try to yell at him to come back. He couldn't. He was completely frozen as the realization of the situation hit him: this was real. It was really happening and no matter what he did, things would never be the same again.

And so the greatest tag team that never was ended as quickly as it had begun. 


End file.
